Doctor Who

History of the Daleks

Episode Four

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"You know, I was starting to get sick of this place by the third day," said Graham casually, as he leant on the cell door. "But after six days this place is really growing on me."

"We need to get out of here!" Yaz said in frustration.

"Yeah, we heard you the last ten times today," said Ryan. "But unless you've come up with any brilliant ideas in the meantime."

Yaz scowled at Ryan, but didn't respond. Instinctively she turned to look at the Doctor, who sat in the corner, knees hugging chest, head bowed.

"What do you think they're going to do to us?" Ryan asked Graham. The old man looked at his grandson, but looked away, still unable to answer the question that had been asked of him several times already. They both knew the answer, anyway, but neither wanted to be the first to say it out loud.

"This wouldn't have happened if you let me kill him" said Ehsunis, absent-mindedly hitting the wall with his fist.

"That's not how we roll," Yaz said.

"Should be," Ehsunis replied. "Maybe then you friend would do something other than just sit there like a useless sack."

"You leave her alone," Yaz said defensively.

"Oh come on, she hasn't done anything the entire time we've been here! Face facts, she's pretty useless."

"Will you two stop fighting," snapped Ryan, before he hung his head in misery. Truth be told they were all ready to have it out with each other. At this rate there'd be nothing left for the Daleks to find.

"Brother," whispered a voice. Everyone's head snapped to the door to see Ryeitv standing by the prison cell's door. Ehsunis leapt to his feet and bounded over towards her, the others crowding around him.

"What on Hopies are you doing here?" he asked.

"I've been seeing one of the guards," she replied, blushing slightly. "He likes to take his work home with him and, well..." She gingerly lifted a key out of her pocket and opened the door. Her brother quickly swept her into his arms, spinning her around with joy.

"Right, let's book it," he said, not even bothering to look back at the others. The other three started to move, only to realize that the Doctor was still huddled on the ground.

"Doctor," Yaz said. "We can leave now."

"What's the point," mumbled the Doctor. "It's all hopeless anyway."

"Course it isn't Doc," said Graham, helping the Doctor up. Ryan threw her arm over his other shoulder and helped drag her out of the cell, Yaz keeping a close eye on where they were going.

"I'm just going to let you all down," the Doctor muttered, tears staining her face.

"No you won't," said Yaz. "We believe in you."

"So did Adric," the Doctor said bitterly. "And Katrina. And Susan."

"We might need you to pull your weight here Doc," said Graham, as Yaz followed Ehsunis and Ryeitv out of the building.

"Where are all the guards?" Ryan asked.

"Most of them were called away for the meeting," Ryeitv explained.

"What meeting?"

"The Daleks. They're coming today. They should be here any moment."

"Daleks?" The Doctor said, eyes widened in fright. "No, not the Daleks! Not them! Anything but them!"

"Doc, are you-" began Graham.

"No, I won't face them," the Doctor said, bursting into tears. "You can't make me face them. I won't do it again."

"Doctor hold still," said Ryan, as the Doctor continued to squirm under his grasp. Soon she'd broken free, making a run for it.

"Doctor, come back!" cried Yaz, but the Doctor had already disappeared.

"Now what?" asked Ryan, hurt and confused.

"We need to find somewhere to hide," said Ehsunis. "Come, I have a safe house. We should be fine there."

The three followed Ehsunis, wondering what had happened to the Doctor, hoping that she was alright. After all, she was the only way they were going to get home.

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"What do you mean they've escaped," hissed Davros.

"Apparently one of their sisters managed to steal a key and set them free," Nyder whispered back.

"Why weren't there any guards on duty?"

"You told everyone that they had to come to this."

Davros said nothing, fuming. It was true that he'd made this gathering a legal decree, and he had left the prisoners unguarded as a result... but how could he have foreseen such a thing happening?

He glanced out at the crowd gathered around him. A section had been cleared so that the saucer could land in front of the hastily constructed wooden platform with sloped edges. Davros and his top tier supporters stood around next to the podium, waiting for the Dalek saucer to finish making its descent.

The crowd milled around fearfully, murmurs rippling through them like waves. Some were excited, some scared, some merely curious. But all were focused on the saucer as it finally landed, the entry hatch slowly lowering.

All eyes were on the creatures that trundled out of the saucer and across the ground. They had seen the Daleks before, they'd been to the museums, learned about them in class, but seeing them in reality was a new experience. Those closest to them trembled in admiration.

Davros stood proud as the black Dalek made its way up the ramp and onto the podium, joining him as an equal for the nation to see. He smiled, decades of work having finally come to fruition. He extended his hand towards the Dalek, but hastily withdrew it when the Dalek didn't respond.

"My fellow citizens," announced Davros. "Today is a historic day for our land. Today we become partners with the Daleks, and with th-"

"Where is the Doctor?" the black Dalek asked. Davros paused mid-speech, looking slightly flummoxed. He hastily nodded at Nyder, who stepped forward.

"Well at the moment she has escaped our custody," he said sheepishly. "But she can't have gotten far, we're confi-"

"You promised to have the Doctor," the black Dalek said.

"And we will have her. It's just a matter of t-"

"You have failed the Daleks."

"I wouldn't say failed, just a temporary setback, one we can qu-"

"EXTERMINATE!"

Nyder crumpled to the floor, the look of shock still on his face. The crowd froze, before a scream rang out. Suddenly pandemonium, as people stampeded away, scampering like rats.

"Please, everyone," Davros called. "This has all been a misunderstanding."

"You have failed the Daleks."

"No, I haven't failed you. I'm here to help you. It's me, Davros."

The black Dalek said nothing, looking at the leader, eyestalk focused on the man's scared face.

"You are not the creator," it said.

"No," Davros admitted. "But I took on his name to show you how dedicated I am. How dedicated we all are. We believe in your cause. We can be allies."

"Daleks do not need allies from inferior creatures."

"Yes, but we're not like the off-worlders, we're original. That makes us better than them."

"You are all inferior to the Daleks."

Davros faltered slightly. This wasn't right, this wasn't right at all. But if bargaining didn't work, maybe intimidation would.

"Listen here you tin pot," Davros snarled. "I'm the leader of this planet, and you will ob-"

The rest of the podium watched as he fell to the floor. Their glorious leader, everything their party stood for, nothing but a pile of flesh and bones. Most of them ran. Only a few stayed, petrified.

"Who was the next in command?"

"I..." began Falkus.

"You will be the people's representative for this planet. This planet is now under Dalek control. Tell your people to surrender themselves or face extermination."

"But-" began Parran, before he was cut off permanently. Falkus turned to Tashek, but he was long gone. Only Shan and Tane remained.

"There will be no further discussion. You will be briefed on where the slaves shall be collected from. Do this and you will live. Refuse and you will be replaced."

"Yes," said Falkus, tears in his eyes.

"You have achieved what you desire," said the black Dalek, and Falkus could almost swear that the monster was laughing at him as it said it. "Your planet is now a part of the history of the Daleks."

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"Did they spot you?" Graham asked, as they huddled behind the wall.

"No, I think I managed to get by safely," Yaz replied, opening the bag to reveal the pathetic amount of food she managed to collect. The rest of the group eyed it hungrily, but didn't make a move.

"I'm surprised anything was left at that supermarket," said Ryan, as he continued to peer around the corner for any patrols.

"There aren't that many people left to loot the place," said Ehsunis, as he stood guard, gun in hand, one eye on his sister. The last member of their group said nothing, sitting numbly. Ehsunis had said that they should have abandoned him ages ago, but Graham wouldn't leave him behind.

"We got you some food," Graham said, passing a tin to Tashek. The young man said nothing, sitting petrified, eyes hollow. "You need to eat the food," Graham continued. Tashek didn't look at the man, instead taking the tin and eating the contents while staring straight ahead.

"You're wasting good food," snarled Ehsunis.

"We're not leaving anyone behind," Graham replied. "That's what the Daleks would do."

"Yeah yeah," said Ehsunis. "Save my your bleeding liberalism. Anyway we need to move."

No one really disagreed. They'd been doing this long enough that they knew the routine. Cautiously they got up, careful not to make too much noise. Slowly they began to creep away from the safety of their hideout, towards areas that had already been patrolled.

The Daleks had only been here for three days, and already the city was unrecognizable. The fires raged uncontrollably, as the Daleks moved along the streets, barking orders and demanding subservience. Some willingly allowed themselves to be enslaved the moment dear leader Falkus had made the announcement. Others had tried to hide, but were forced to give up when they were found. Some tried to fight back... The lucky ones didn't survive.

Three days. But somehow, it felt more than that. As the three time travellers followed their guide, they wondered if their life was ever going to go back to normal. Or if this was their life now. Desperately attempting to survive just that little bit longer, in the hopes that...

But what hope was there? There was no Doctor, no way of getting back to the TARDIS, nothing but staying alive for the sake of staying alive. Graham and Ryan were there for each other, supporting each other, whereas Yaz... all she could think about was her family back home. How she'd apologize to her sister the moment she got the chance. To hug her mum and dad and never let go. To go back to her ordinary life.

Ehsunis stopped them, huddling them round a corner. They held their breath, hearing the footsteps get closer. A typical patrol, as long as they weren't spotted.

"Grandfather?" said Ryeitv. Before anyone could react she ran out into the open, standing in front of Wannem. The man looked at her impassively, raising her gun.

"Surrender now," he said in a robotic voice.

"Grandfather, it's me," Ryeitv said, tears streaming down her face. Wannem didn't reply, instead just shooting her. She was dead before she hit the floor.

"NO!" cried Ehsunis, dashing forward and cradling his sister's body. He looked up at the monster that killed her.

"Surrender now," repeated Wannem in the same robotic voice, his speech modified by the strange contraption on his head.

"Go to hell," snarled Ehsunis, letting go of his sister and aiming his gun, before he too fell to the ground next to her, together in death. Wannem stepped over the bodies, walking over to where the two of them appeared. Graham ushered at the others to run, but their path was cut off by a second man, another slave of the Daleks.

"Surrender now," Wannem said for the third time, as two sets of guns were aimed at the four of them, ready to end their adventures to good.